Day: April 17, 2012

Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney will be in Charlotte on Wednesday to raise money and to give what his campaign is calling a “prebuttal” to President Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at September’s Democratic National Convention.

The former Massachusetts governor, making one of his first forays into this crucial swing state, will speak at 3:40 p.m. at A Roof with a View – a fifth-floor rooftop venue on Cedar Street that has a sweeping view of uptown and is used for receptions and wedding rehearsal dinners. Rent: Between $2,100 and $3,300 for four hour events.

The Romney campaign chose the spot because it’s across the street from Bank of America Stadium, where Obama will give his acceptance speech to cap off Democratic convention week.

Romney campaign aides told the Washington Post that his message will boil down to this: “Are you better off than you were four years ago, the last time Obama gave a convention speech?”

Romney will spend most of the day in North Carolina, where the Obama campaign will have already opened 15 field offices – including two in Mecklenburg County – by week’s end, and is registering people to vote every day. The president, the first lady and several Obama Cabinet members have visited the state several times in recent months.

Romney is scheduled to appear at a luncheon fundraiser at the Angus Barn in Raleigh. Then, at 5:30 p.m., he’ll be at Myers Park Country Club in Charlotte for a $1,000 per person fundraiser — $2,500 to get a photo with the candidate.

The 2012 general election campaign season has officially more or less begun – for better or for worse.

The shocking photos show how several established left-wing members of the Stockholm cultural elite celeberate together with Cultural Minister Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth when she slices and eats a cake depicting a black African woman with minstrel-esque face.

According to sources Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth was invited to declare festivities open by performing a clitoridectomy on the cake, which she did by removing the cake woman’s labiums.

But, see, they’re evolved, tolerant, anti-racist lefties, so there’s no problem. This was just a tolerant, broad-minded example of multiculturalism. Group hug!

Among the many embarrassing moments for the Obama administration (1) at the recent Summit of the Americas, the real standout has to be when the President of the United States showed utter, blithering ignorance of geography while at the same time sticking a shiv into one of our closest, oldest allies.

At a press conference, when asked about Argentine claims (2) to the Falkland Islands (part of the UK for nearly 200 years), our worldly-wise president tried to show how multicultural he is by referring to the islands by their Spanish name, “Las Malvinas.”

Okay, okay. So it’s a relatively petty point, and he was without his binky teleprompter. But we’ve been told time and again what a brilliant man he is, so don’t you think he could keep the names straight in a dispute involving an ally and an important regional actor? One that may break out in war? The press would have shown Bush no mercy, so, all’s fair. Obama owns this egg-on-the-face moment.

But, much more important than his latest impression of Norm Crosby, Obama’s proclamation of neutrality in the Falklands dispute was yet another slap in the face of one of our most important and trusted allies. As UK journalist Toby Harnden wrote:

But the bigger issue is that the Falkland Islands are a British Overseas Territory. This time 30 years ago, a British task force was en route to retake the islands after they had been invaded by Argentina. The death toll of that war included 255 British troops.

(…)

To spell it out: Obama is “neutral” over the sovereignty of islands that British troops, with American support, fought and died for at a time when British troops are fighting and dying alongside their American comrades in Afghanistan.

Not only that, Obama thinks that the term “Malvinas” is just as valid as the correct name on all the maps: the Falklands. Except that he cannot read his briefing notes carefully enough even to get the incorrect name right, mixing up the Malvinas with the Maldives.

What a way to treat the foremost ally of the United States.

The British also supported us in both Gulf Wars and have been stalwarts in the fight against al Qaeda globally. Given the choice between supporting Her Majesty’s Government in defense in the right of Falklanders to self-determination, on the one hand, and giving de facto support to the gangster–government of Argentine president Cristina Kirchner on the other, well, there is no choice, and the Obama-Clinton “evenhanded neutrality” is a disgrace.

Hell of a way to treat an ally, indeed.

LINKS: More from Fausta; Nile Gardiner wonders (again) if this is the thanks Britain gets. He also argues that Secretary Clinton is becoming an embarrassment. (“Becoming,” Nile? Try the past tense.) The Diplomad recounts earlier sorry moments in Obama’s Latin American diplomacy and calls this latest summit “a disaster.”

FYI – the next few days are going to be crazy busy for both me and Phineas as we try to cram in five days of work into three, as we’ll both be attending Blog Con Charlotte (blogger convention right here in my back yard!) on Friday and Saturday (we’re both off workThursday and Friday). So blogging will be light at least through Saturday. In the meantime, I’ll try to put up some daily discussion threads to keep people mildly entertained.

And speaking of, how about the Secret Service scandal that has erupted? Fox News has confirmed that the 11 agents – some senior in rank – who have been identified as being involved in “Hookergate” have had their security clearances revoked, and I suspect more heads will roll as time goes on – as it should be. This is obviously awful and embarrassing for the Secret Service but, IMO, should not detract from the overall excellent and critical work the agency has done over the years. Most of these guys and gals take their jobs VERY seriously and the scandal surrounding the few should who stepped way out of line should be considered an exception to the rule. Just my .02.